


Damage

by orchidbreezefc



Category: King Falls AM (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminals, Breaking and Entering, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Not Actually That Shippy, Theft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 15:24:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17470106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orchidbreezefc/pseuds/orchidbreezefc
Summary: For the Tumblr prompts: Criminal AU+Scars





	Damage

**Author's Note:**

> This didn't end up too far from canon, actually... haha, oops.
> 
> Thanks to Helen for the prompt! 💜
> 
> Warning for injuries and implied self-harm.

By the time Sammy gets home, Ben has practically chewed through the pencil he’s been using to draft schematics and inevitably scribble them out and tear them apart too. He is the picture of hair-pulling anxiety until he hears the door, and then he perks up like a dog whose owner has come home, if a dog could understand its owner being in terrible danger that he might not come back from.

But Sammy does come back, and Ben throws himself into his arms. “It worked? You got into the Science Institute?” Ben asks, hands searching Sammy’s face and body to confirm he’s in one piece.

“I’m here, aren’t I? Not calling you from jail?” Sammy laughs and spins Ben in a circle, heady on adrenaline. “It went off without a hitch, thanks to my little mastermind.”

Ben doesn’t get mad at being lifted, doesn’t even bristle at the ‘little’ comment. He’s glowing with joy. “Oh, thank god.” He runs his hand through his hair, shaking his head in smiling disbelief. “I know you’ve got a plus ten to charisma, but you getting in and out of there scot-free like some kind of phantom thief... you’re incredible, man.”

“We make a good team,” Sammy agrees. “Couldn’t have done it without your plan.”

Ben grabs Sammy's hands and leans up earnestly. "Proof of concept, dude! Now we know we can get into anywhere! Anywhere's easier than the fucking SI."

Sammy leans back against the door and fondly regards him. "Wherever you want, Ben."

Ben couldn't hide his grin if he wanted to, which he doesn't. He squeezes Sammy's hands, holding them up between them. "The world is our goddamn oyster, Sammy. We can--" He stops, his eyes on Sammy's arm.

"What?"

Ben drops one of Sammy's hands and shifts his hold on the other one. He holds his arm palm-up so he can see. Sammy twitches back when Ben runs his fingers over a scar, but Ben holds firm.

"How did I never notice this before?" he mutters. "Sammy, I... you didn't..."

“No,” Sammy says immediately. “Nothing like that. I, uh…” He rubs his free hand over his neck. “It’s from when I fucked up a burglary once. Real early in the game, when I wasn’t any good at it. Long time ago. It’s not important.”

“Fuck,” Ben mutters. “Jack-in-the-Box Jesus. You got this breaking into somewhere.”

"Ben," Sammy says, and Ben can hear the warning in his voice. He rips himself away from Sammy.

"No! Shit. Sammy. Fuck." Ben digs his hands into his hair. "God, you could really get hurt doing this shit. You have gotten hurt. What the fuck was I thinking?"

"You were thinking that this was important," says Sammy, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder and doing his best to look him in the eye. "You were thinking I was the best guy for the job, which I was." He takes Ben's wrist, slowly, like he's a frightened animal, and brings his hand up to touch Sammy's chest. "See? I'm here. I'm safe."

"You..." Ben bites his lip. "If anything happened to you, Sammy, goddamn... I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"Hey," Sammy says. He leans his forehead down against Ben's. "I'm a lot fucking better than I used to be. And I already did the worst, remember? Anywhere's easier than the fucking SI."

Ben opens his eyes, which he had shut against Sammy's gaze. He blinks at Sammy's perfectly earnest face, then wraps his arms around him. "If you die or something, I'll fucking kill you," he mutters.

Sammy smiles and hugs Ben back. "You promise?"

"I promise," Ben says, even though he knows Sammy should be promising him safety. Sammy has never promised anything anyway, so this is as close as it gets, he supposes.

"Come on, then," Sammy says, releasing Ben and reaching back for the door. "Rose has some victory pancake puppies with our names on them."

Close is enough. It has to be.


End file.
